The Snow Report

Quick Study

Just two days after he first snapped on skis, Denver native Bobby Brown landed his first trick—a 360. He was 12. Six years later, the skier pulled off the first-ever switch double misty 1440 (four full rotations in the air) at the 2010 Winter X Games in Aspen and won two gold medals. “It was a pretty indescribable feeling,” Brown says. “My mind was just blank. I was kind of amazed at how I landed on my feet.”

This month, at the ripe old age of 19, the freestyle skier is poised to throw bigger and harder tricks when he competes in Aspen at the 2011 X Games (January 27–30). Brown, who lives and trains in Breckenridge, has perfected the unnatural double cork (a maneuver that includes two-and-a-half spins performed in the opposite rotational direction the skier’s accustomed to). It’s a must-do trick to win, but for Brown, it’s simply another step forward for the sport: “Everything’s a progression,” he says. “You have to have confidence. If you overthink it, you can really mess up what you’re gonna do.”